A day at the zoo...

We love the zoo! Kevin has been on a 3 week break and so we've been enjoying having him around to do all the fun things. We ventured to the zoo this morning and had a great time. Alexa's favorite thing is the carousel and daddy wanted to go with her this time.

Our little monkey girl! She had so much fun looking at the animals today. And so did we...it was the first time we've seen the gorillas in the outdoor part of their exhibit (and we've been to the zoo ALOT!!), so that was fun!

We're going to be really sad when Kevin/daddy has to go back to school! :-(

Picture of the Day

Alexa's new favorite thing!

I have to say, I quite enjoy these adorable boots myself!!

She just looks so darn cute in them!

Summertime Fun!

Another couple firsts this summer - the downtown splash park...

and the JCC pool!!

I know, I know...this is it, I promise! I REALLY won't post about each and every time we head to the pool, the zoo or the various splash parks around the city. However, I said I wouldn't do it EVERY time...but I can't promise about once in awhile...just so you're prepared to see at least a few more pics from our adventures this summer!! :-)

Payton's Blessing Day

Today was Payton's Blessing Day. Her daddy gave her a beautiful blessing and she didn't make a peep the entire time...Phew! It was a great day and we had some wonderful friends come to support us. To the Graves, the Wikles and the Carters...thanks you guys, we love and appreciate your friendship!! Kevin's Uncle Paul and Uncle Wayne also came and participated in the circle for the blessing. We really appreciate their love and support as well, especially with Kevin's parents being out of the country while serving a mission for our Church.

This is us with Taffney, "the guys" and "baby Cali". Alexa absolutely adores "the guys" and was so excited to have them come to church!

Here's the star of the day...our sweet Payton Jae!

This afternoon, we headed to Kevin's cousin Matt's house for a family dinner as Matt and his wife, Jen, also blessed their new baby, Jake, today. He was born two weeks before Payton.

Just a couple more shots of our sweet baby girl!

I also have to send a very big shout out to my Aunt Marina. She made Payton's blessing dress and it is absolutely beautiful. Thank you so sooooo much! She has made both Alexa and Payton's dresses now and I hope they'll treasure them as I do and pass them on to their own kids!

JOY!!

Can't you just tell that these two were having so much fun??!!! We headed to the splash park at the zoo this morning as it was VERY hot here today...hot weather + sunshine + water + good friends = JOY! I know, I promise not to post about EVERY time we head outside for some fun as there are sure to be many MANY more of those days this summer. But these are the firsts this summer. It's definitely taking some getting used to having two kids to haul around this summer. It was soooo easy last summer with just Alexa...no stroller, just her and I and our bag. Now it's a massive double stroller, two kids, several bags of total necessities :-) and one tired mama! But it's so worth it when I see how much fun Alexa has with her friends.

If only...

...Alexa could live outside, she'd be the happiest girl alive! Last week, we enjoyed being outdoors at my friend, Amanda's, place. They just recently got this fabulous swing set/playhouse/slide for their little guy, Karter, and Alexa was in heaven (kudos to Karter's daddy for putting it together!!). Alexa was speechless when she spotted it from the kitchen window!! It was pretty cute. Thanks Amanda and Karter for letting us come play...I'm sure we'll be inviting ourselves over quite a bit this summer!! :-)

Payton's One Month Stats...

We had Payton's one month well-baby visit today and she weighed in at 10 lbs 6 oz (75th percentile) and 21 inches long (50th percentile). Her head circumference was also in the 75th percentile so she's growing well. I don't have any one month stats of Alexa's to compare her to as Alexa went from a 2 week check up to a 2 month checkup...but Alexa was always in the 100th percentile for weight so Payton isn't growing as quickly as her big sister. I had already guessed that as Payton likes to eat but she's content with a lot less than Alexa was at this age. But she's healthy and happy and we're so grateful to have her as part of our family.

One Month Old!!

It seems like only yesterday that I was so DONE with being pregnant and couldn't wait to have this little baby in my arms...and now she's already ONE MONTH OLD!! My how time flies when you're exhausted as all get out, changing diapers until they come out of your ears, dealing with temper tantrums from our toddler...oh yeah, and having fun!!! For reals...despite all the other stuff that comes with having a newborn in the house again, it really has been fun. Payton is such a joy to have. She's a good baby...still sleeping and eating the majority of the time. She likes to be held (who wouldn't, really???!!), which means she sleeps on me or Kevin some of the time, but she is starting to enjoy longer stretches (sometimes 4 hours) of shut eye in her bassinet! Baby steps, baby steps!!

A couple of weeks ago, two of my wonderful and talented friends offered to take pictures of Payton (and some of Alexa too). Click here to check out Amanda's pictures and here to check out Rachael's pictures. You may have to scroll down through a few posts to find the ones of my girls.

Thank you ladies for sharing your wonderful talents with us!!

And since Amanda gave me a CD with the rest of the pictures on it today, here are a few more of my favorites:

Payton has her one month check-up on Monday so stay tuned for updates on her stats!!

A Match Made in Heaven???

My good friend, Gwinn, and I had our babies on the same day, different hospital, only 6 hours apart. Her little guy, Blake, made an appearance later the same day after Payton joined our family. Here is a picture of their first date! :-) Who knows what the future will hold for these two???!!!

Our "Backyard"!!

Alexa has taken to calling the balcony off our dining room, her "backyard". She seems to be content with it most of the time...which is great as we don't have a real backyard to call our own at this time in our lives! She loves to play out there, as you can see from these pictures, and she's not afraid to get dirty...but that's what laundry detergent is for, right??!! Why stop the fun just because of a little dirt?!!

Strawberry Festival

This morning, we ventured to the Strawberry Festival in Starlight, Indiana. We've been wanting to go for a couple years now as it's right by Huber Farms where we go pumpkin picking every year, but just haven't made it...until now. Thankfully, my friend Amanda reminded me about it, otherwise we would have missed out yet again this year! Anyways, it was fun to get outside on a beautiful day and enjoy a nice, BIG portion of strawberry shortcake. I unfortunately did not take a picture of said huge portion...but for $3.50, you could build your own strawberry shortcake and pile on as many strawberries as you wanted, topped by as much whipped cream as your little heart desired. It was oh so delicious!!

Alexa & Daddy

Going Up...

and coming down!

Our little family of four!

It has begun....

...aaaahhhh, the lazy days of summer! Oh how we have missed thee!! This was the first swimsuit day of the summer for us and we hope there will be MANY more to come! Alexa had a blast playing with her best buddy "Nay-Nay" in his "kitty pool". (I think Alexa thought the little pool was actually supposed to be for the kitties, not herself & Nathan, the KIDDIES!)

Thank you!!

Since having Payton, our family has been extremely blessed by the willingness of others to share their time, talents and FOOD with us!! :-) We want all our friends who brought us meals, visited us in the hospital and have helped out since having the baby was born to know how much we love and appreciate each of you!

Lovin' Life!

Kevin and I are so blessed to have these two beautiful girls in our family.

We love them so much!

Back to Life...Back to Reality!!

My mom left to return to Canada this morning. It's back to reality now. It's been soooo nice having her here to help out and to spoil us all rotten. I'm not sure how I'm going to get two kids out of the house without an extra set of hands...but I'm sure I'll figure it out. Thanks mom for everything you did...we couldn't have done it without you and are so grateful for you taking the time from your already busy life to help us out. We love and miss you too much!! :-)